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(Homeland) - Manga and anime stand as the world's most popular forms of entertainment today, and copyright infringements on websites can result in immense damage to the creators.
Tackling copyright violations in the anime/manga industry has long been a persistent challenge for production and publishing companies in Japan. However, this ongoing battle appears to lack an effective solution when considering the staggering figures below.
According to a recent study published by the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) based in Tokyo, Japan, the entertainment industry in the country, including manga, anime, music, and video games, suffered a loss of 1.9 to 2.2 trillion yen (equivalent to 327 – 378 trillion VND) in 2021 due to copyright infringements. This figure indicates a fivefold increase compared to CODA's 2019 study, derived from market surveys and consumer inquiries.
Illustration depicting users accessing copyright-infringing manga websitesCODA estimates that anime and other video content from Japan lost 906.5 billion to 1.4 trillion yen (equivalent to 156 – 240 trillion VND) due to copyright infringements, while manga and other published media lost 395.2 billion to 831.1 billion yen (equivalent to 68 – 143 trillion VND). CODA attributes the increase in copyright violations to people spending more time indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the boom of online streaming services.
CODA, a commercial anti-copyright infringement conglomerate, comprises 32 Japanese companies like Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, Aniplex, Kadokawa, Sunrise, Studio Ghibli, Bandai Namco Arts, Pony Canyon, and Toei Animation. Since January 2022, numerous companies and organizations from over 13 countries worldwide have collaborated to establish the International Anti-Piracy Organization (IAPO), an organization launched in April of the same year with CODA at its center. The association is currently working with cybersecurity experts to identify the individuals behind copyright-infringing content websites.
Image of a copyright-infringing anime website shut down in BrazilIn mid-April 2023, CODA revealed that Brazil had taken down 36 copyright-infringing anime websites. Association members, including Toei Animation, TOHO, and Bandai Namco Filmworks, filed complaints against four websites. After local authorities investigated the operators of these four sites and negotiated with those behind similar platforms, 31 sites were shut down, while the remaining five voluntarily ceased operations. CODA stated that these 36 infringing sites averaged 83 million monthly views from December of the previous year to February of this year.
Another significant case involved China collaborating with Japan to shut down a major locally-targeted copyright-infringing website. In this website's case, the content was specifically aimed at Japanese viewers rather than Chinese audiences. It garnered over 300 million views in less than two years.
